|
by Ken Winterling
In April, RCHV coordinator Suzie Fromer was contacted by Vanessa Greeley, a professional pastry chef. She is the owner of Vanessa’s Cake Designs in Warwick, NY. She advised Suzie that she had sent three of her KitchenAid stand mixers to another state to be serviced only to get them back making “funny noises.” She said, “I could have bought a new mixer with what I spent.” Vanessa wanted to know if she could bring all three mixers to a Repair Cafe to see if we could fix them. After Suzie confirmed that a Repair Coach familiar with the mixers would be available at the Warwick Cafe, Vanessa was told to bring them in.
On Saturday, May 17, Vanessa arrived early, before the Warwick cafe had opened for business. We were still setting up when she appeared with the three different models of mixers on a cart. Repair Coach Ken Winterling was already set up and expecting her so he began evaluating the machines.
After listening to Vanessa’s description of the problem with all three machines, Ken tested each one and they all sounded as if they lacked sufficient lubrication which would be an odd coincidence. He was familiar with one of the models so he started working on that one as he knew he could disassemble it in just a few minutes. He found that the motor shaft drive gear, the transmission, and the planetary gear that spins the attachments all had insufficient grease coating the gears. In fact, there was very little grease in any of the gear areas. The lack of grease would explain the “funny noises.” Ken regreased all the gears, reassembled the mixer, and it now ran quietly.
Disassembly of the remaining mixers revealed the same situation: insufficient grease on all gears. As with the first mixer, applying an adequate amount of grease to the gears resolved the noise issue. This led to speculation as to what, if anything, the professional repair service had done to her machines. Since all three looked identical regarding the lack of grease, it appeared that all original grease had been removed and an insufficient amount of new grease had been applied to all three machines.
Regardless, Vanessa was very happy to have her mixers repaired. Now she can get back to making those delicious pastries! Additionally, a simple repair by a Repair Cafe saved three stand mixers from the landfill and expensive replacement costs for the owner.
| 
